Nightmares
by KatanaNoNeko
Summary: Lucy is tired of waking up every morning to see that Natsu has snuck in, so she bans him from her house. What she doesn't know is that he can't live without her, and she can't live without him. They each come to realize this when their worst fears come to life in dreamland. Nalu, multi-chapter. Takes place in between the Edolas and Tenrou arcs.
1. Chapter 1

Well, lookee here. I've written another fic. And a multi-chapter fic at that. Granted, Midnight Kiss could've been multi-chapter if I wanted it to be. That was a long one-shot. And this is a short chapter... I CAN'T FIND THAT PERFECT MIDDLE :P

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Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, and this fic is for the sole purpose of entertainment.

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 **Third Person POV**

Lucy woke up feeling very warm. It relaxed her for a bit, until she realized why she was so hot.

"NATSU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED AGAIN!?"

Natsu groaned. "Stop yelling so early in the morning, would you?"

"THIS IS MY HOUSE! I CAN YELL WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT! NOW GET OUT OF MY BED!"

"Geez, fine. Hey, what's for breakfast?" When Natsu saw the look on Lucy's face after saying it, he realized his mistake, but it was too late.

Lucy gave him a swift Lucy Kick to the window he so often used to get in and out of her house. "That is IT! YOU GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU BACK IN HERE FOR ANOTHER WEEK, AT LEAST! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!? AND MAKE SURE YOUR CAT KNOWS THIS, TOO! I DON'T WANT HIM BARGING IN THE MOMENT HE'S BACK FROM HIS MISSION WITH WENDY AND CARLA!"

"But L-" he tried to plead his case.

"OUT!"

Natsu groaned and jumped out the window. _Geez, what's her problem? All I did was sneak into her bed and ask for breakfast..._ He thought about that. The rest of the guild was always telling him that it wasn't normal for him to be at her house all the time, that he had feelings for her, obviously.

He had already realized this himself, of course. He was pretty dense, but he wasn't so dense that he didn't realise that he felt something for Lucy. Figuring out what to do with those feelings was a different story, though. Should he tell her?

Nah, that wouldn't do anything. If her yelling and kicking me out is any indication, then it's not like Lucy loves me like I love her. Natsu gulped. He may have known for a while that he had feelings, but it was only a few days ago that he had figured out that he was in love with her.

It was then that Natsu realized that he had no clue where he was going. He looked around, and seeing that Lucy's apartment was next to him, he realized that he had walked around the block once and made his way back to one of the places he called home.

Feeling a draft around his neck, he also realized that his scarf was still in Lucy's place. "Well, I'm already here, might as well get it now." He hopped up to Lucy's window, expecting it to be open, but almost fell back to the ground when it wasn't. He also found it to be locked. _Wow, she's really serious about me staying out of her apartment..._ He knocked on the window a few times and called for Lucy, to no avail. Looking in, it appeared to Natsu that she had already left.

Natsu jumped back to the ground. He sniffed the air and quickly found the scent of his partner. As he expected, she was en route to their guild hall. He groaned. "Hopefully she'll give it to me at the guild..."

 **xxx**

When he arrived at the guild, Lucy was sitting at the bar, talking to Mira and drinking tea.

"Hey, Luce! D-" he started to say as he draped his arm across Lucy's shoulders. There was an abrupt end to his greeting when Lucy tossed Natsu off and he fell to the floor.

"Natsu, I'm not really in the mood to talk to you right now. Come back later."

Natsu scrambled up off the floor. "But I left my scarf at your house! I need it!"

Lucy turned her head and glared at him. "That's too bad, isn't it? You can come get it when your week is done." When Natsu started trying to give a puppy-dog face to her, Lucy then added, "Maybe if you're good, I'll give it to you in a couple of days..."

Natsu jumped up and gave Lucy a big hug, to which she reacted first with shock, but then she melted into it. When he jumped away, she spoke again. "Now, Natsu. I am still in a bad mood. I'll be fine in a little while, but I would appreciate some time without you in the meantime."

"Hey, does this mean I can go to your house again?"

"No."

"Why?!" Natsu whined.

"Because I still don't want you sneaking into my bed. So until next week, you are hereby banned from my house." Natsu groaned and pouted. He sat down on the stool next to Lucy's. Mira, who had watched the conversation without knowing how to react, brought out some food for Natsu, hoping to cheer him up.

 **xxx**

The day in the guild was a pretty standard one. Natsu had started a brawl after a while of sulking, Gray had unknowingly stripped his shirt and pants, much to the enjoyment of Juvia, until she realized that love-rival Lucy could also see his shirtless chest. Erza had yelled at them all after her cake had fallen to the floor due to the fighting, and Lucy had talked to many of her guildmates. About books with Levy, a weird conversation about life with drunk Cana, and, to Lucy's chagrin, a conversation about Natsu with Mira. Mira was always trying to set them up, and it annoyed Lucy. Sure, Natsu had his good points, he was... Passionate, he was... Warm?

 _I mean, I guess it's possible I_ like _him._ She kept thinking about it, as she had done so often before. He was always there to protect her. So many times, when she thought all hope was lost, Natsu had been there for her, and for Fairy Tail.

She thought about the frequent times he had saved her. From Phantom Lord, from Edolas, from the Infinity Clock, and from so much more.

She had protected him plenty, too, mostly just being there for him when his motion sickness left him as an easy target.

He was willing to do anything for her...

...And she was willing to do the same for him.

 _But I can't be_ in love _with him..._

 _...Can I?_

 **xxx**

When it started getting dark, Lucy decided that it was time to go home. Following her out was Natsu.

The walk to Lucy's was quiet. Natsu was surprised that she hadn't told him to go away, but he wasn't going to complain.

They arrived at her house and Natsu turned to leave.

"Where are you- oh. Oh, right," Lucy said, wondering if she should just let him in. _Whether I love him or not, he needs to learn about personal space._

"Well... Good night, Natsu. I'll see you tomorrow."

Natsu stuck his tongue out playfully. "It's gonna be too quiet at my house, with Happy gone on that mission with Wendy and Carla! Anyways... Good night!"

Lucy pretended to be fumbling with her keys as she watched him leave until he was out of sight. She went in, and looking at the window, debated with herself about whether or not she should unlock it. She decided to unlock it and did so before flopping on her bed. _Oh, who am I kidding? I'm in love with the idiot._

After she got up and changed into pajamas, she laid down again and drifted to sleep.

 **xxx**

 _It was completely dark except for the fire from Natsu's fighting. He was hurt pretty bad, and I was laying here kissing death. The rest of our team was scattered, fighting other powerful enemies._

 _Natsu was dead on his feet, injured the worst I've ever seen._

 _I wanted - no, needed - to get up and help. I just couldn't, though, I was already completely drained of magic and hurt almost as bad as Natsu._

 _I heard Natsu yelling, hitting his opponent over and over. Then I heard a different yell, one of pain, as I saw him get hit back._

 _He landed close to me. I heard his straggling breath, only just keeping him conscious. I needed to get to him! I needed to comfort him! I needed to save him! I couldn't let him die! C'mon, body, work!_

 _"...Lucy..."_

 _That's what did it. Hearing him say my name, I found enough strength to get to him._

 _"I'm here!"_

 _"...Lucy... I..."_

 _"Hold on just a little longer, Natsu! Wendy will come, she'll heal you!"_

 _I knew that my words were probably false._

 _"Natsu... I love y-"_

 _Suddenly, I felt a blinding pain in my back as our enemy shot his magic at me._

 _"Lucy!"_

 _The last thing I felt was Natsu's arms wrap around me before they went limp just as I did._

 **xxx**

 **Lucy POV**

"Natsu!" I woke up in a cold sweat, crying. I didn't know what to think, just that I needed Natsu. I looked at my clock. It was a little past one; there was no way Natsu was still awake. I couldn't bother him, not over a nightmare...

What do I do? What do I do!? My heart is beating a hundred times a minute, and I know it's ridiculous, but I'm worried about Natsu!

He's probably just sleeping in his bed, perfectly fine and fast asleep!

Yeah, Natsu is just fine...

I turn over in the bed and try to fall back asleep. After ten minutes of continued franticness, and not feeling tired at all, I get up and start pacing.

I know Natsu is perfectly fine, so why can't I settle down!?

Maybe I could work on my book to calm my nerves.

I stumble to the desk and turn the light on. On top of my work is Natsu's scarf, right where I put it this morning after finding it. Just seeing it, I'm already feeling calmer. I grab it and turn the light off, already feeling my exhaustion now that I've settled down.

Argh, I never should have yelled at him. As soon as I see him tomorrow, I'm removing the ban. He can come to my house whenever he wants. I love him; there's no denying it.

I wrap his scarf around my neck and get into bed, Natsu's scarf calming me down enough to drift off.

Any doubts that I had before are gone. I'm certain now:

I completely and utterly love Natsu.

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So, how do I do with multi-chapter fics? Did I make the chapter too short? I'll try to post the next chapter soon. The entire fic is actually done, but I've got to keep you guys in suspense *\\(~w~)/* When I post multi-chapter fics, I will almost always have the whole thing done, just to make sure it won't become one of the 'lost' stories that people like but never gets finished. I'm sad when I find those.

-KatanaNoNeko

EDIT: Okay, so it seems that the doc editor is deleting my line breaks of asterisks and tildes. Anyone have a fix?

EDIT2: Welp, I did some searching and apparently we have to use those ugly black lines for breaks. EEEWWW. IT LOOKS TERRIBLE. WHY CAN'T I USE MY WHIMSICAL PATTERN OF ASTERISKS AND TILDES? IT WAS A LOT BETTER AT TRANSITIONING THAN THOSE BIG HONKING LINES.

EDIT3: No, you know what? I'm not going to use that jarring thing in my stories for transitions. I'm using some bold x's. Hopefully that won't be as bad. My tildes and asterisks were perfect, though... ( ,*-*,)


	2. Chapter 2

Edit: Welp, this chapter turned out way shorter than the first one, so I'm adding this one right away.

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 **Natsu POV**

I left Lucy's house, taking quick glances behind me every so often. She was being awfully slow with those keys... I wonder why? And why does she keep glancing towards me? Oh well. It doesn't matter.

I thought about sneaking back into her house, but... Lucy seemed really mad this morning. I'll let her have a night alone...

I got home and laid on my bed, still thinking about Lucy before I drifted to sleep.

 **xxx**

 _It was completely dark besides the light of my flames as I beat up the opponent in front of me. I should've been unconscious, maybe even dead, many injuries covering me from head to toe._

 _But I couldn't fall. Lucy was laying on the ground behind me, unable to fight, just barely hanging on to life. Her scent was only just reaching my nose, almost completely masked by the heavy smell of blood. I had to make sure she would keep hanging on! There's no time to even worry for a moment about my own injuries!_

 _I keep fighting, hitting this guy with as much force as I can._

 _I miss a beat and get knocked back, landing by Lucy. I can smell her scent a little better, but I can also smell her blood a lot more. I hear her shallow breathing only because of my heightened senses. I have to get up! I can't let Lucy die! Not while I'm sitting here doing nothing!_

 _I want to- need to- get up and beat this guy so that he can't hurt Lucy anymore!_

 _But instead of getting up, I feel myself continue to fall into blackness. Lucy! Lucy!_

 _I manage to groan out her name._

 _"...Lucy..."_

 _I hear her breath change as she manages to scramble over to me._

 _"I'm here!" I felt myself continue to tumble towards death. But I couldn't fall. Especially when I still haven't told Lucy that I..._

 _"...Lucy... I..."_

 _"Hold on just a little longer, Natsu! Wendy will come, she'll heal you!"_

 _She and I both knew that her words were false._

 _She spoke some more, but I couldn't make it out._

 _Suddenly, I saw a flash of light as our enemy shot his magic at Lucy._

 _"Lucy!"_

 _I screamed her name as I wrapped my arms around Lucy's body just as it went limp. It was just then that I went limp as well. Lucy was the last thing I felt._

 **xxx**

"LUCY!" I darted up in my bed. I was drenched in sweat and breathing extremely heavily. My hands were both lit with fire. I later realized how lucky I had been to not start a fire in my sleep. Without thinking, I darted out of my house, heading straight for Lucy's. I had to make sure she was okay!

When I got there, I was surprised to find that the window was unlocked. I snuck in quietly to see Lucy twisting and turning in her bed. It's unusual for me, but I turned and closed the window. I was about to go wake Lucy up and comfort her, but then I realized that she was already awake. I darted behind her couch to hide as she got up and walked around, seeming nervous.

I was too scared to watch Lucy, but I heard a click and saw light, meaning she had turned on the lamp at her desk. After a second, I heard a very slight russling of paper and a click as the lamp was turned off.

Her breathing had an instant change. Starting out frantic and quick, it was then slowing to a steady, calm breath. But what had caused her nervousness to begin with? Did something happen to her? Whatever she was scared about , though, it wouldn't hurt her as long as I was there. I wouldn't let my nightmare become real. But what had calmed her down so easily?

These thoughts accompanied me as I accidentally drfited to sleep behind Lucy's couch, calmer from the nightmare knowing that Lucy was safe now.

 **xxx**

 **Lucy POV**

I woke up feeling unnaturally cold. Then I remembered why: I had kicked Natsu out. Well, this was the last night I would keep Natsu out. I would tell him today that the ban was forever lifted, and maybe even tell him how I feel. The window was closed, which left me feeling dissapointed.

I put on a pink tank top with a skirt, the outfit I had worn during the Galuna Island 'visit'. I left the scarf on, not even thinking about why.

I went into my bathroom to brush my teeth before coming back out to the main room. The window was open now, but I didn't think anything of it or really realize it; my window was almost always open in the morning.

I then left my apartment. I tried to decide whether to go to the guild or to Natsu's house, but before I could, I heard a crash from underneath my window.

 **xxx**

 **Natsu POV**

I woke up to the sound of Lucy groaning as she awoke. It disoriented me for a moment that I was behind Lucy's couch instead of on her bed, but then I remembered last night. Or maybe it was this morning? I wasn't too sure what time it had been when I snuck in.

I heard Lucy's bathroom door shut and knew that now was my chance to get out. I didn't really feel like dying.

I opened the window and hopped down. Looking back up, I noticed that I had accidentally left Lucy's window open, but now it was too late to fix it. Lucy would be out any second, so I had to get away before she found out that I was here.

When my dragon ears picked up the click of Lucy's doorknob as it began to turn, my eyes darted around, looking for a place to hide.

I jumped up to the only place I could see: Lucy's window.

Except I didn't grab the window- or rather, my hand slipped off the sill.

I fell onto my back to the ground with a crash and braced myself for Lucy's yelling.

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This chapter is way shorter than the first one ('*.* )


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, I was going to wait a few days at least to post this, but I couldn't resist!

This is the longest chapter of all of them. It's weird. The first had over 2,000 words, the second had over 1,000, and now this one has over 3,000... I'm bad at making lengths consistent...

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 **Third Person POV**

Lucy quickly turned to the sound of the crash and saw just who she was hoping it was: Natsu.

Natsu was scared. With how much Lucy had stressed that he needed to stay out of her house, he was half expecting death. "H-hey, Luce," he said, standing up.

Lucy was happy to see Natsu, knowing now with complete certainty that he was okay, it being the first time she'd seen him since the nightmare. She grinned and ran to hug him, nearly knocking him over.

Natsu was severely confused. She was grinning? She was hugging him? Lucy backed away from him and he stared back, trying to figure out what to say.

"Y-you're not... Yelling?" Lucy didn't understand at first, but then it hit her. He was at her house, despite the ban.

"Oh! You mean... No! No, I'm not yelling. You see, Natsu, I..." She was about to say it. She didn't know what stopped her, but she suddenly had a lump in her throat, preventing her from admitting her love. "I..." She tried again, but still found something preventing her.

Natsu cocked his head. "Luce?" What was she trying to say?

"Let's just say that I..." What was keeping her from saying the truth, from telling him that she loved him? She had been all ready to tell him, and she just couldn't! Was she afraid of Natsu's response? She nearly screamed as she realized that that was exactly it. "That I...Realized something last night. It's... Well... You can come to my house any time you want, okay?"

Natsu was overjoyed. "I can!? But... Why-" Then he noticed something, "-are you wearing my scarf?"

Lucy blushed as she looked down and remembered that she was, in fact, wearing the scaly-looking item. "I was... It..." She searched her mind for an excuse. "I was... Cold! Yes! Cold!"

Natsu realized that something was fishy about the way she had answered, particularly about how excited she was about being cold. He wasn't going to push, though. For one, he thought Lucy looked really good in it, not that she didn't always look pretty. For two, he was hungry and wanted to get to the guild.

When she started to take the scarf off to give it back, he stopped her. "No, you keep it for now. If you're actually cold, you need it more than I do!" He gave her his signature grin, and Lucy blushed even harder. She realized that he wasn't buying her excuse. Especially since it was a warm spring day.

 **xxx**

The day at the guild hadn't been particularly eventful, although several members, especially Mira, were excited about Natsu and Lucy 'finally getting together', seeing that Lucy was wearing his scarf when it wasn't particularly cold. The two were both the victims of fierce blushes as they tried to explain that they were not, in fact, together. This had been followed by teasing from mostly Gray about how much they were blushing, which made their faces turn even redder.

By the time Natsu and Lucy left the guild for the day, they had faces redder than Erza's hair. They were both silent again on the way home, each trying to decide whether or not to tell the other person their feelings.

Unfortunately, they each decided that they would not.

Lucy attempted to break the silence first. "So... That was... Crazy... At the guild today, I mean," she said, rushing out the last part.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I got to beat up Gray, though! Any day where I can wipe the floor with him is a good day!" Natsu started getting excited about fighting, which was just what was needed to diffuse the awkwardness. The two were laughing and talking together the rest of the way.

 **xxx**

They arrived at Lucy's house and Lucy moved to open the door. She heard a grunt above her as Natsu jumped to her window.

"Natsu! What do you think you're doing!?" Lucy yelled up to him. She was right here, opening the door! Why did he always have to go through the window?

Natsu jumped back down. "Sorry, did you want up, too?" He grabbed her and held her bridal style and jumped once again to the window, easily jumping in due to him doing it so often, Lucy adding next to no hindrance.

Lucy was too shocked to speak as it all happened. Then it finally registered.

"NATSU! FOR GOD'S SAKE, PUT ME DOWN! What on Earthland are you doing!?"

"Coming in your house? I thought you said it was okay now!"

"...Natsu... I said you could come in. I DIDN'T SAY YOU COULD CARRY ME IN THROUGH THE WINDOW!" Lucy and Natsu then realized how close their faces were, Natsu still holding her in his arms. They jumped away from each other, once again blushing brightly. Lucy tried to cover up her face with her hands as she turned away. Natsu scratched the back if his head and also looked away from Lucy to hide his blush.

"S-sorry, heh, about that..."

Lucy sighed. "It's... Fine... Sorry for yelling..." They stood like that for a few moments, both shuffling their hands and feet. Lucy spoke first as she uncovered her face and hurriedly went to the kitchen.

"H-hey, are you hungry? I'll make supper for us!"

At the mention of food, Natsu was instantly back to normal, although there was still a lingering bit of his blush. "Yeah! I'm starving! What are you making!?"

Once again, Natsu's excitement fixed the situation and the two talked and laughed together again as they fixed dinner.

 **xxx**

At bed time, Natsu decided that, for once, he would sleep on Lucy's couch. Lucy didn't want to say anything, but she was extremely disappointed about it.

Lucy took off the scarf and placed it on her desk, knowing that she would be able to find it there if she needed it. If she had the nightmare again, and Natsu was sleeping, she wouldn't want to wake him up over it.

"Good night, Natsu."

"'Night!"

 **Lucy POV**

I slowly drift to sleep, thinking about Natsu.

 **xxx**

 _It was dark again. There was more fire. No! Not this again! Lucy, wake up! Wake up! I screamed out. I heard Natsu yell to me, "Luce! LUCE! Are you okay!?"_

 _I feel tears fill my eyes and stream down my face._

 _Just as last time, Natsu and I are both just above death. He gets a bunch of hits in, and for a moment, it looks like we might win this, but my optimism doesn't last long. He's about to fall again... "Natsu..." I whisper his name. This can't be happening again! Wake up! Wake! Up!_

 _As I continue trying to wake up, everything suddenly changed. All of Natsu's injuries and blood are gone! It took me a moment, but I realized that mine were, as well!_

 _I stood up and readied my celestial whip. "Natsu!" He looked to me and I could see that there had been tears in his eyes. Seeing me up and perfectly fine, he grinned at me._

 _"Lucy!" Natsu punched our opponent once more with his fire, knocking him out. The man fell to the ground, but he was now completely ignored by us. Natsu ran to me and squeezed my body against his as if he would never let me go, and I wrapped my arms around his neck as well. We each had our heads resting on the other person's shoulder. I thought I felt something against my forehead, but it was gone in the next instant and I didn't think about it anymore._

 _He lifted his head and my arms moved to his shoulders. We looked into each other's eyes. We both spoke at the same time._

 _"Natsu, I..."_

 _"Lucy, I..."_

 _We started laughing after we interrupted each other. We didn't need words, anymore, though. We each knew what the other had wanted to say. We leaned closer to each other until our noses almost touched. Natsu moved one of his hands to the back of my head..._

 _...And then I woke up._

 **xxx**

 **Natsu POV**

I watched Lucy as she fell asleep. I would go to sleep soon enough, but I wanted to make sure Lucy would be okay. Although, if I was being honest with myself, I was just trying to avoid possibly getting that nightmare. It had really... Scared me. And I don't scare easily. What if something like that did happen? What if a time came when I couldn't protect her? I know I died, too, in my nightmare, but if Lucy were to die... And I didn't... Then I certainly would soon after. I would never be able to go on without her. Without Lucy.

After about five minutes of these thoughts. I noticed Lucy moving. Was she shivering? No... She was twisting and turning... She definitely wasn't awake like last night when I was here, though.

I heard her scream, and I was instantly by her side. "Luce! LUCE! Are you okay!?"

I shook her shoulder, trying to wake her up from what I assumed was a nightmare. I don't know what it could be about, though.

Lucy seemed to calm down from my shaking, but when I moved my hands off of her to go back to the couch, she started freaking out again. What in Earthland was she dreaming about? Why did my touch make her feel better?

Wait... Are those... tears? What was happening in her nightmare? Could it be that she was having the same nightmare as me? From her perspective? Maybe... Oh! I've got it!

Lucy was dying in her nightmare and was scared for her death!

I heard her whisper my name. No! Luce must be really close to death! She's scared! I have to be here for her!

I climbed in her bed and wrapped my arms around her, her back against my chest.

Exactly what I was hoping for, Lucy calmed down completely. She was no longer shaking at all. I heard her call my name and I said hers back. Lucy turned in her sleep and had her head and hands resting against my chest, and I started to blush. A lot.

Lucy smiled in her sleep. Every other time I had ever seen that beautiful smile flashed through my mind, and I thought of every single little thing that created the woman I had fallen in love with.

Without thinking, I leaned to Lucy's forehead and pressed a kiss down.

I moved back away and watched Lucy as her grin grew and she snuggled her body even closer to mine. I know she's asleep, but I have to say it.

"Lucy, I-"

"Natsu, I-" Lucy speaks at the same time and then giggles. What was she about to say? It can't be what I was going to say... It could've been anything! 'Natsu, I... Need to pay rent'. Yeah, that's probably what it was...

Wait... Did I just kiss Luce? I was blushing bright again. Is that why Lucy smiled more...? Because I-

Lucy groaned as she awoke. I watched her eyelids flutter open. "N-Na... Tsu?"

 **Third Person POV**

Lucy looked up into Natsu's face and blushed, remembering how her dream had just left off. Then she blushed even more, realizing how close she and Natsu were, suddenly aware of her hands pressing against his chest and his arms wrapped around her curled-up body.

Natsu retracted his arms from around her, still blushing brightly. He sat up and began to climb out, but surprisingly to both Natsu and Lucy, Lucy reached up and grabbed his arm. _Why did I do that?_ Lucy's mind kept repeating the question. Lucy pulled herself up next to him.

"L-Lucy?" _Why isn't she...? Isn't Lucy... Mad?_ Natsu wasn't too sure on what to think. They looked into each other's eyes once again.

Lucy thought she knew what she would do. _This is it... This is my chance!_ "N-Natsu... I... Well, I..." Lucy stuttered out the words. _Where should I start? You can't just spring love on someone like that..._ "Well... Last night... I dreamt- er... Had a nightmare..." Lucy trailed off, not sure how to say what she wanted.

 _So Luce did have a nightmare last night... Just before I came... The timing all seems right... Were we... Sharing a nightmare? She really must've been scared about her death!_

"Lucy... I... Last night, I mean..." Why, oh why, could neither of them come up with the right words? "I- er- had a nightmare, too..."

Lucy's eyes grew. Natsu had a nightmare last night, too? _Did we share a nightmare? Was he scared about dying?_ "What... About?"

Natsu thought he already knew what her answer would be, but he asked anyways. "What was... Yours about?"

"We'll say it at the same time, okay?"

"Okay..."

They counted down together. "3... 2... 1..."

"You were dead!" they said at the same time in one breath.

They grew wide-eyed at each other.

"...What...?" They spoke at the same time again. "You mean..."

Finally, Lucy beat Natsu to talking. "Let's... Take turns telling each other about our nightmares. You... Can start..."

Natsu hesitated, but then the words began spilling out. He told her about how injured she was and how worried he was for her life, only briefly mentioning that he was also injured.

Lucy told Natsu about how much he really was hurt and how close to death he seemed. About how desperately she had fought to try and get up and help him, whether she would be able to help in combat or simply be comfort.

Natsu told her that no matter how hard he tried, he just wasn't able to protect her in the nightmare, and how scared it had made him, scared that a day would come in the when it would be real. Many thought he was scared of nothing, but that was wrong. This was his fear: that Lucy would get hurt even if he was there.

Lucy told Natsu about how much pain she felt for not being able to help him after he was knocked back, but hearing him say her name gave her the strength to finally get over to him.

Natsu told Lucy how badly he had wanted to get up and keep fighting, for her sake.

Lucy told him how much she had wanted to comfort him, to try and stop his pain, even though she had been unsuccessful.

Natsu told Lucy that she had helped him plenty. He told her that he would've been long dead if she hadn't been there as an anchor to his will to keep fighting, his will to protect her.

"N-natsu..."

"Lucy, when you died in my nightmare, so did I! Not only because I had finally given out, but because without you, I can't live! Not in the same way I do now, anyways! I love a lot of people, Lucy. Happy, Igneel, everyone in Fairy Tail..." Natsu paused, trying to figure out how to phrase this next part. "...but that's nothing compared to what I feel for you! I've known for a while the base idea of my feelings, but that nightmare made me realize just how far those feelings go..."

"Natsu, I..." Natsu held a finger to her lips, signaling that he had more to say.

"Lucy, I love you. I love you more than anything else, even my own life!"

Lucy had guessed that the words were coming from everything Natsu had been telling her, but to actually hear them was completely different. She was beginning to cry from happiness. Natsu's face was completely still and serious, an expression Lucy didn't see often that told her that he was being more sincere than he had ever been in his life.

Lucy wrapped her arms around Natsu's neck, almost toppling him with the amount of speed and force that went into the hug.

"L-Luce? Why're you crying? Oh, no, I made you upset, didn't I!? I take it all back, I didn't mean any of it!"

She leaned back, her hands on his shoulders. "Natsu, I would and will do anything for you. I'm always strongest when you need me to be; there are feats that I've accomplished that I never could've done if I didn't need to for you, that I never could've done without you."

"Luce, what are you saying?" His expression was no longer as serious, now with a dominant look of confusion.

"I love you, Natsu! The nightmare made me figure it out finally, too! I feel so silly not realizing it before, but it's true! I love you!"

"L-Lucy? You really do!?"

"Y-yes. I really do, Natsu. I love y-"

Lucy was cut off by Natsu pulling her against him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder while his arms were wrapped around her upper back with his own head dug in her neck. Lucy noticed that he kept breathing deeply and figured out that he was inhaling her scent. They sat like that for a bit before Natsu pulled back and looked Lucy in the eyes once more. Lucy looked into his, and their eyes both shone. If anyone had been watching, they easily would've been able to see how in love they were.

They leaned closer to each other, and closer, until their noses were nearly touching. Natsu moved one hand to the back of her head and used the other to cup her cheek. Lucy's hands moved to the back of Natsu's neck. They leaned closer, the last inch or so, closed their eyes, and their lips met.

After only a few seconds, their kiss ended and they had their foreheads resting against each other's.

"Wow," Lucy heard Natsu say. She lifted her head and opened her eyes to look at him. With her forehead gone, Natsu also sat up and opened his eyes. He was grinning the brightest grin Lucy had ever seen on him. Lucy hummed her confusion.

"I said, 'Wow.'" Lucy and Natsu both blushed again, Lucy moreso.

"I-I heard you... What do you mean by... 'Wow'?"

"Exactly what I said! 'Wow.' I mean, did that really just happen? Did I really just kiss the most amazing woman in the entire world? Did I really just find out that the woman I love loves me back?"

"Wow..." She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder again.

"What?"

"It's just... Different hearing you say something like that. I already knew that you had to be one of the most compassionate, kind, and caring people, but to hear you say that... You have to be the greatest, not just one of them..." She closed her eyes and sleep began to claim her, a small smile on her face.

Natsu laid Lucy down on the bed and laid down next to her, leaving a bit of space. She moved closer, removing the little bit of space between them, resting her forehead against his chest. Her arms were around his upper back. Natsu brought his arms around her as well.

"I love you, Luce. Good night."

"Good night, Natsu... I love you,too..." Lucy said, drifting off to sleep. Natsu kissed the top of her head before bringing a blanket over their legs and falling asleep with her.

* * *

The end. I have an idea for an epilogue? I guess? It's not really an epilogue, moreso just an extra chapter, a one-shot sequel? Anyways, if I write it, should I post it on this same story, or make a new thing for it? God, I just noticed that my grammar is a lot worse in these author notes than in serious writing... Wait, now I'm going off on a tangent...

ANYWAYS, tell me what you think and about whether or not I should just add the extra chapter to this or not.

KatanaNoNeko out! .´*\\(^w^)/*´.


	4. Epilogue?

I'm sorry this took so long! I was sick and wasn't feeling like working on this, although I did get some work done on another fic idea I had. Like I said in another author note, I want to get it completely finished before I begin posting to make sure that I don't leave a story hanging, so it may be a while before it sees the light of day.

By the way, the outfit Lucy is wearing is from the 5th episode, when she met Erza for the first time.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Third Person POV**

Happy, Carla, and Wendy's train pulled into Magnolia station at about 10:00. The job itself wasn't particularly hard, but the location was a good seven hour's train ride away. None of them had realized how far it was until after they took the job. It hadn't even paid very much, although on the way to the station in their request town, Happy had bought a camera with his part of the reward, wanting to use it to take embarrassing pictures of Natsu and Lucy 'in love' to tease them. Happy had noticed that they were both getting more frantic and crazy with his teasing for the last couple of months, and that just made it more fun for him.

Happy, Carla, and Wendy were all exhausted, but Carla was the best at not showing it.

"Come on, you two! Wake up! We have to get to the guild hall and let Master know of our success on the mission!"

"But Caaaaarrrllllaaaaa... I'm sleeeeeeepyyyyyyy..." Happy whined.

"It's okay, Happy..." Wendy yawned. "You can go home... We can let Miss Mirajane and Master Makarov know without you..." She yawned again.

"THANK YOOOOUUU! Hey, Carla, I'll bring you a big fish tomorrow... Okaaaaay?" Carla 'hmphed' at him, and Wendy giggled at the two's antics. Happy wished them a good night and flew away from the two.

"Now. If I were Natsu, where would I be sleeping?" He laughed at what he saw as a joke and began flying to Lucy's.

When he arrived, he wasn't surprised to find Lucy's window open, once again giggling at how correct he had been.

He flew in and saw Natsu and Lucy on the bed, and he was happy to find them hugging, assuming that the two had curled into each other in their sleep. Happy had a dubious look on his face as he readied his new camera and took a picture. As tired as he was, Happy did figure out that if he stayed here, his plan may be discovered, so he flew back out the window to his own house.

 **xxx**

Lucy woke up feeling very warm and comfortable, wrapped in Natsu,her love's, arms. She almost wanted to go to sleep again, but then Natsu started talking.

"Good morning, Luce!" Lucy opened her eyes to be staring right into Natsu's. He had his signature grin on, as well. Lucy smiled at him.

"How long have you been awake, Natsu?"

"Oh, a half hour, maybe an hour." Lucy's eyes widened. She sat up on one elbow, with Natsu following suit.

"Why didn't you get up?"

Natsu shrugged. "I didn't want to bother you! The time flew by, anyways. I just couldn't stop thinking about how lucky I am to have you!" Lucy blushed and looked down, and Natsu took the opportunity to give her head a kiss. Lucy looked forward again and pecked him on the cheek, then began getting out of bed. That is, until Natsu pulled her back and began tickling her. Lucy shrieked with laughter.

"STOP! NATSU! EEEEEEEE! NAAAATSUUUU!" She and Natsu were both laughing, but finally Lucy was able to grab onto one of the pillows at the head of the bed. She grabbed it and whacked Natsu over the head with it.

"Oooowwweeee... Luucyyy... That hurt!" Natsu playfully pouted at her. Lucy stuck her tongue out at him.

"Come on, Natsu. It's time to get up. We should get to the guild and tell them the good news!"

"Aww... But I want to stay here and cuddle you!"

"Don't you want to show off to Gray that you got a girlfriend before him?" Lucy asked, knowing Natsu all too well. He sprang out of bed and grabbed Lucy's arm, beginning to drag her to the window.

Lucy coughed for his attention.

"What?"

"Natsu, I'm still wearing pajamas!"

"Well, hurry up! I need to show you off to that ice butt and iron eater! And Laxus, too, if he's there. Oh, and I'll have to find Jellal! Hey, Luce, do you think the Magic Council let's maximum security prisoners get visitors? Hey! We should try to get back to Edolas, too! I need to show you off to everyone there!..." Lucy went into the bathroom and got dressed while Natsu continued listing all the people he would show her off to, even mentioning Bora, although Natsu quickly took that back after remembering what a creep Bora was. "He really was a creep. If I had known that he wasn't even a dragon, I never would've gotten on that stupid train, let alone get stuck riding it more than I had to. Of course, without him, I wouldn't have been there to drag you with me to Fairy Tail..." Lucy was grinning from ear to ear at how amazing Natsu was, thinking similar thoughts to Natsu's from earlier that morning. She also smiled when Natsu meandered from the path of those to show Lucy off to and began reiterating the day they had met after mentioning Bora.

Lucy came out of the bathroom wearing a red half-sleeved shirt with a white, brown-belted mini skirt. Her hair was tied in a pink ribbon. "All right, Natsu. Ready to go?"

"Almost! Just need to grab this!" Natsu reached for his scarf and Lucy turned away to walk to the door. She was surprised when Natsu began wrapping the scarf on her instead of himself and turned back to him.

"Natsu, what're you doing...?" He grinned at her.

"It looks better on you! We need to get you one of your own!" He leaned forward and pecked Lucy on the cheek, then picked her up bridal style and headed to the window. Lucy grumbled and rolled her eyes at Natsu's need to use her window as a door, but she did like the way he was holding her.

Natsu jumped out the window and they landed safely on the ground below. Lucy jumped out of his arms and Natsu immediately grabbed her wrist and darted towards their guild. Lucy couldn't help but remember the day they had met once again, the first time he had dragged her to Fairy Tail.

 **xxx**

Happy had made sure to get an early start that day, because he wanted to get to the guild before his favorite to-be (as far as he knew) couple.

The Exceed arrived at the guild and was happy to see that Natsu and Lucy had yet to arrive. Spying Mira wiping counters at the bar, he darted over with his new photograph.

"Hey, Mira! Look what I have~!" Happy held up the photo and Mira turned to look.

As soon as Mira saw Natsu and Lucy hugging in the picture, she was squealing with joy.

"EEEEEEEE! THEY'RE SO CUTE TOGETHER! Why can't they just admit that they're in love! Lucy was wearing Natsu's scarf yesterday, but they denied everything!"

"I bought a new camera yesterday, so maybe if I take enough pictures and tease them enough, it'll finally happen!"

"You're logic seems a little flawed, but Mavis knows that the rest of our ideas have yet to work, so go for it!" Happy grinned and nodded at her, then flew off to tell the other members of the guild who were part of what Mirajane called the "Nalu Crew," which included Gray, Erza, Cana, and a few others.

Soon after, the guild doors burst open.

"HELLO, FAIRY TAIL!" Natsu shouted to his guild mates as he and Lucy walked in. Natsu was still holding Lucy's wrist, and was about to shout that he had the greatest, most beautiful, most amazing person ever now, and that he would never ever let her go, but Happy got to them before he could. Mirajane noticed the scarf around Lucy's neck, but after the day before's events, she dismissed it.

"NAAATTSUUUU! I'M HOOOOMEEEE!" Happy flew into Natsu's chest and Natsu let go of Lucy's arm to hug his friend. Lucy giggled at the little blue cat and ruffled the fur on his head.

"Welcome back, little buddy! Mission go well?"

"Uh-huh, and I bought a present for me while I was there!"

Lucy spoke up next as the trio made their way to the bar to get breakfast. "Oh, yeah? What did you buy?" Mirajane, Lisanna, Gray, Erza, Levy, and Cana were all sitting there, watching the conversation closely in case Happy needed backup, but they were trying to act uninterested, in order to hide the plan.

"A camera! I want to take pictures!"

Natsu and Lucy were both confused. Why did he have that evil glint in his eye...? Lucy was almost too scared to ask, but... "...of what?"

"Oh, just some interesting things..." The group gathered at the bar was still trying to be covert, but they were failing miserably now. Mirajane and Erza, who were supposed to be talking about cake recipes, were the worst offenders, now staring at the trio, just watching and waiting.

Happy continued. "...In fact, I saw something very interesting on the way home last night..."

Lucy and Natsu looked at each other. _Does this have something to do with us?_

Natsu spoke next. "What was it, Happy?" The group at the bar was now all staring at the conversation, hoping it would unfold into an admittance of love from Natsu and Lucy.

"Well..." Happy produced the photo of them hugging in their sleep from his bag. "I found this! You're in love~!"

There was a pause. Mirajane and Erza especially looked hopeful. Natsu and Lucy just looked at each other. Then they started laughing.

Everyone in the guild had been staring by now, and everyones' eyes bugged out at the couple's reaction. Weren't they supposed to be yelling and denying it? It was completely silent beside the two's laughter. Natsu and Lucy shared a look once more, and Natsu put his arm around Lucy's shoulders. He got a small nod from Lucy, then looked straight at Happy.

"Yes. Yes we are."

And he put his other arm around her waist as Lucy put her hands on the back of his neck. They each leaned forward until their lips met, and they kissed.


End file.
